R and J in the USA

June 23, 2024

The GRR Firecracker 5K took place on a gray Sunday morning in Glastonbury, Connecticut. The race was put on by the Glastonbury River Runners, a Central Connecticut running club.

The road course began and ended along the same half mile stretch, while the middle two miles looped through the neighborhoods of Glastonbury. With 90 feet between the high and low elevation points, the race was seldom flat, but unfolded with no onerous uphills.

The overall winner had a decent time of 17:51, but this was not the fastest of fields in which we’ve run on this trip. Only three runners broke 20:00. We weren’t racing them, though. We were racing ourselves. (And maybe each other.)

Julie and Ryan both finished 5^th in their age groups. But Julie’s group had 26 people and Ryan’s had 11, so… Julie finished 40^th out of 154 runners overall, while Ryan finished 48^th. Chalk another one up for Julie.

Detailed Race Report for Running Nerds

A very unfortunate phenomenon had been brewing for Julie since our first race in DC. Having engaged no formal or thoughtful approach to training in years and having produced a decent amount of fitness from very casual weekly running, slowly building from once/week walk/runs in the depths of her shin recovery all the way up to 3-4 casual runs per week by the time we left for the trip, somehow in that process, Julie had built up some decent fitness. Then, having run two 5Ks at an 8 minute/mile pace Julie had this very dangerous thought…”Well, if I can run this fast without formal and focused training, with 50 5Ks ahead of me, I bet I could shave a minute per mile of that running time.” So, in the midst of a physically demanding daily schedule on an ambitious 50 states in 10 months tour, while living in a slow-cooker in the middle of a multi-state heat wave that produced more than one advisory, Julie decided to sign up for a stock training plan with a goal to get her to 7 minute miles. Ah, the stupidity of unchecked ambition. So delightful. So, somewhere in New Jersey, Julie had started adhering to this training plan that put her on hot days pushing a pace she had barely ever seen. Because it was a stock plan, there was no coach to confer with about what might be realistic and Julie’s reliable “listen to my body” training approach she’d been using the past 2 years no longer a guide…Julie didn’t know it yet, but her little experiment to see if she could put the pedal to the medal began a mild “overtraining” bout. But, still in Connecticut and blissfully unaware, Julie had put in some hard speed runs coming into the Connecticut race. Luckily, the overtraining hadn’t set in yet, and, counter to Julie’s typical overambition at the start line, she was committed to running by heart rate and keeping her heart rate below 150, whatever that might do to her pace. However, to stick to her new training plan, she also ran 2 miles before the race to hit her 5 mile total for the day according to the plan. Anyone who knows Julie knows, if there is one thing she can do, its follow a plan – for better or worse.

Both Julie and Ryan took the race itself fairly easy. Julie’s overtraining not having set in yet, she was able to hold a relaxed pace averaging out to 8:21s with a 146 heart rate, finishing with a 25:55, a pace that would easily have gotten her an age group medal in one of the less competitive races. No dice here in Connecticut where the Glastonbury River Runners easily brought plenty of speed to the course and put her comfortably in 5th place with the ladies before her clocking in at 22-25 minutes. And, in reality – Julie was 6th in her age group as the overall female for the race was a 42 year old that clocked in at 19:00 flat! Over 40 and crushing it! Very good company to be in. Ryan took the same spot in his age group and followed in at a nice and easy 26:52 quickly closing the gap between him and Julie. Both Julie and Ryan left the race not too wiped and at a level of disgusting that they had unfortunately started to become accustomed, with at least 4 unshowered days behind them. With that, back to our friend Katy’s apartment for a nice hot shower. And THAT, we both considered a BIG win.